Gallifrey's Box-An 11th Doctor Adventure
by TheDoctor'sTARDISXO
Summary: Gemma Caldwell is called upon by the Doctor to help him find his friends, Amy & Rory, who were taken from him. Using her gift of Psychometry, Gemma helps the Doctor rescue his friends & they fall into a trap. His enemies are awaiting him, the Doctor is needed to open a box holding the most powerful essence of evil, enough to destroy the entire universe. What's in Gallifrey's Box?


**HELLO STONEHENGE! GUESS WHO? IT'S ME! I'M BACK! Hello my lovely readers and may I present a brand new story for you to feast your eyes upon! Gallifey's Box! (yes I know it is very like Pandora's Box in title). I hope you're ready for a fun ride. I always wanted to tackle a character who had psychic powers, so i present to you our heroine for this story: Miss Gemma Elizabeth Caldwell. *Applause Applause* she's Psychometric, meaning she can obtain details about another through physical contact with their possessions. Sorry to disappoint, there will be NO 11/OC romance in this story (awww boooo booo boooo!) I'm focused on an action-packed adventure for you lovelies to feast your eyes upon! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Let the record show that I DO NOT own Doctor Who (I cry) that honor belongs to Steven Moffat and the guys in the expensive suits at the BBC.**

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"_Gemma, Gemma I need your help. Please. If I don't do this then they will kill my friends. Please help me. I can't do this alone. Not again."_

Gemma awoke with a start and bolted upright in bed. She groggily glanced around the room absentmindedly wondering if someone was in her bedroom with her. There was that voice again; this was the third time this week that she had heard it. She was starting to wonder if she was going mad. It had to be all the late night studying giving her a case of the mind wandering hallucinations. No other explanation aside from, you know, going mad. With a groan she flopped back down against her pillows, black shoulder length hair fanning out around her face in a tumbled mess. Her cat, D'artagnan as he was aptly named, decided that this was the best time to join her on the bed, now that she was awake and could feed him.

"Mmmmm listen catketeer now is not the time to look to me to feed you. Damn, what time is it anyway?" Gemma peered at her clock through half closed lids and let out a frustrated sigh. "3:15a.m. exactly. It seems the voices love to be punctual in their visits." She mumbled as she chuckled silently to herself. Yep, she was definitely beginning to sound mad. She rolled over and burrowed deeper into her pillows, determined to forget this mess and salvage whatever sleep she could. Gemma has just closed her eyes when she heard banging, as if someone was knocking on her front door. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY CAN'T I JUST SLEEP?!"

She picked up the pillow next to her and used it as earmuffs to cover her ears. It was no use, the knocking wouldn't stop. Frustrated, tired, and a bit cross she flung the pillow across her spacious bedroom before untangling her limbs from her down comforter. She mumbled curses under her breath, some that she made up, and others that would make her grandmother ashamed if she knew what language her granddaughter used, as she threw an oversized cardigan over her tank top and shoved her feet into a pair of flats. Thank god she had worn her yoga pants to bed. The knocking grew louder as she approached her front door. She grabbed an umbrella from the coat stand to use as a weapon in case there was a burglar outside her door. "_Oh yeah Gem," _she thought rolling her eyes as she moved to unlock the door, "_burglars will be very much frightened of an umbrella." _She opened the door just a crack, enough to peek out of and the knocking stopped. On the other side of her door stood a rather daftly dressed man wearing a tweed jacket and red suspenders with a blue bowtie. Honestly, who still wore bowties?

"Ah yes, hello. Good evening or rather good morning. Gemma Elizabeth Caldwell, yes? Good. I was afraid that I had found the wrong flat, again. Don't you know that it is rude to ignore people who call out asking for your help, and on three separate occasions as well? Well I figured then I'd have to come and get you in person." Gemma stood flabbergasted at the sight in front of her. The stranger rocked on his heels and gave her a friendly smile. "Aren't you going to invite me in? It's a bit nippy out here."

He didn't wait for her answer though, oh no. this strange man just pushed his way past Gemma and strode into her flat. Gemma couldn't think of a word to say which, considering her vocabulary from a few moments ago, was very unlike her. She closed and locked the front door and turned to find the strange man critiquing her living room before moving through to her kitchen. D'artagnan, who had made his way out to see what all the fuss was about, sat in the entrance to the hallway leading to Gemma's bedroom with his head cocked to the side in cat-like wonder.

"I'm-I'm sorry," Gemma finally shook herself out of her previously flabbergasted state and turned fully to confront the stranger, "who the bloody hell are you? What are you doing here at 3:20 in the morning? How do you know my name? And why in the world are you rummaging through my food?"

The stranger stopped rummaging; he was holding a banana, to give her another friendly smile. There was something otherworldly, not human, about this man. Gemma did not know if it was because of the clothes, his eyes that looked older and wiser than he looked, or both. Maybe it was both.

"Sorry! Right, rude of me to not introduce myself. I'm the Doctor, nice to meet you Gemma."

Gemma looked at him, really studied him and raised an eyebrow questioningly, "Doctor, doctor who? Or what? That can't really be your name. No one is called just 'the doctor'."

"Oh no, it is. Just the Doctor. And I need your help."

Gemma actually had the grace to scoff before throwing herself down on her sofa. The umbrella which she was still holding slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor. "No, no you're a dream. Another crazy dream my mind decided to come up with as a warning not to study until half past two. I'm just going to close my eyes and you'll be gone."

And she did, Gemma closed her eyes and turned away from this Doctor person as he strode toward her. He had set his banana down on her coffee table and gave her midsection such a pinch. Gemma yelp before blindly throwing her fist towards where she thought his head would be. She was off by a couple of feet though, and caught only air.

"I'm sorry about that. Only thing I thought to do to make you realize that you weren't dreaming. This is very real, and I need your help."

"Yes, I heard you the first time." Gemma huffed as she sat upright and glared at the Doctor. "How did you find me? And how could I possibly help you this early in the morning, and in my night-clothes?!"

The Doctor perched his lanky frame upon the edge of the coffee table, stretching his legs out to the side and regarded Gemma carefully. "My friends have been taken from me. I need your help to get them back."

"What can I do? You're better off with the police, not me."

The Doctor shook his head sadly, "The police wouldn't be able to help me. The TARDIS led me here, to you. She seems to think that you can help."

"TARDIS? What is that? Some type of computer system? And why me? I'm sorry, but you're mad. Please leave before I call the police." A look of helplessness and fear crossed the Doctor's face, stopping Gemma from reaching for her mobile. She thought perhaps she could at least hear him out. "Can I see some ID? Some credentials that prove you're not really some psychopathic murderer."

His face lit up at the thought of Gemma listening to his story and helping him out that he happily reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his psychic paper for her to evaluate. She looked from the paper to him, back to the paper, then back to him again.

"Uhm, how do I put this gently? This piece of paper you handed me is blank. This is most certainly not your ID unless you're trying to tell me that you don't exist and are an alien of some sort."

The Doctor beamed at her, he positively glowed with happiness as he chuckled. "The TARDIS was right about you. Definite psychic ability. You saw right through my psychic paper. Good on you Caldwell, you'll do nicely."

Gemma's heart had seized in her chest. Psychic ability? No one knew about that quirk of hers, no one but her older sister Jade. No one else knows that she was psychometric, that she could learn about people just by coming into contact with their belongings. Her first psychometric episode happened when she was only sixteen on an outing to the Tower of London. She had just brushed her fingers gingerly on one of the cell doors in passing and saw glimpses of all who passed through them. She could have told you what color gown Katherine Howard wore on the day of her execution, and she did, in stunning detail, like she was there. Her sister had played it off as Gemma reading a little too much historical fiction, but deep down she knew something was amiss with her baby sister. Ever since that day Gemma learned to avoid places and objects that were too rich in history. She couldn't quite control her gift even now, seven years later. How this Doctor knew about her and her gift was enough to make her blood run cold.

"I'm not going to hurt you Gemma, I promise. I'm just looking for your help in getting my friends back. I've travelled so far to find you. You're my only hope."

"But I don't even know who you are, or how I could honestly help you. All you've told me was that you're the Doctor. That doesn't help me in the least bit you know."

The Doctor reached into the inside pocket of his tweed jacket and pulled out the oddest looking device that Gemma had ever seen. He held it in his hands for a moment before nodding to himself, as if he had just agreed mentally to do something that he normally wouldn't do. He gaze flickered over to Gemma now, and she noticed how incredibly old his eyes looked. The Doctor pushed a button on his device and it made a buzzing noise, the tip glowing green.

"It's called a sonic screwdriver," he told Gemma as she eyed it with intrigue, "go ahead and hold it, it should tell you everything you need to know." He held his sonic screwdriver out to Gemma who reached out gingerly to take it into her grasp.

It didn't take long for her gift of psychometry to come into effect. Gemma's breath left her in a rush as she was slammed with the Doctor's entire history from birth until the moment of his arrival at her flat. She saw all of his faces, his regenerations. Saw all the many companions that he had travelled with, saw a distant land of beautiful silver trees and a majestic silver sky. She saw a blue box that was bigger on the inside and was what the Doctor considered to be his home. Gemma had seen everything that there was to see, and so much more. When the vision had finally dissipated, Gemma slumped over into near unconsciousness, the sheer force of the vision too much for her severely under trained mind to handle. The sonic screwdriver slipped out of her lax hand and clattered to the floor. The Doctor was at her side in an instant.

"Gemma? Gemma talk to me. Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

"I think I'm going to faint." Came her whispered reply.

"I'm sorry Gemma, I didn't know that you would have that kind of reaction. I could imagine just how much that was to take in. Stupid, careless me. Can you sit up?" The Doctor griped Gemma's elbows and helped her into a sitting position afraid that if he let go she'd slump right back against the cushions.

"I think, I think I'm okay now. I haven't used my ability in quite a while. I guess I wasn't prepared for that, whatever _THAT_ was." She looked at the Doctor, really looked at him now and knew that with what she just saw, his entire history, there was no way that he was human. "You're not…" Gemma's voice trailed off. She didn't quite know how to put it.

"No, I'm not." The Doctor replied, a small smile playing on his lips.

"But then that means…" Again she didn't know how to finish her sentence.

"It does." The Doctor replied with a laugh.

Okay, so there was an alien sitting on Gemma's coffee table, an actual proper alien. And he needed her help. All of this knowledge made Gemma's head spin, and she began to feel a bit nauseous. She was truly hoping for this to just be a dream.

"Oh I'm really not dreaming am I?" Gemma asked with a sigh.

"I'm afraid not Gemma. This is real, I'm real." He stated bending down to pick up his sonic screwdriver. "My friends are in real proper danger and I'm out of options. They've only given me forty eight hours to locate their base and save my friends, and I only have" here he checked his watch, "eight hours left. We have to get moving."

With that said he was up on his feet and pulling Gemma to hers. He took her hand in his and held it tightly, refusing to let her go. The Doctor marched them both out her front door and into the eerily foggy streets of early morning Cardiff. This wasn't normal fog, Gemma noted in the back of her mind. There was something sinister about this fog, like there was a monster hiding inside waiting to just devour her and the Doctor. Gemma involuntarily shuddered and that thought, and was struck with the realization that she didn't know where the Doctor was taking her, or where on Earth they were headed.

"Hey, wait. Hold on just a moment! You do realize that you're dragging me around outside _in my nightclothes!_" Gemma cried out in mock disdain, "Couldn't I have at least changed?"

"There's no time," The Doctor stated over his shoulder, "besides there's plenty of clothes in the TARDIS wardrobe. I'm sure the old girl wouldn't mind supplying you with some suitable clothing."

Gemma huffed in defeat realizing that she was never going to win. She let herself be dragged away from her nice warm flat and deeper into the fog soaked streets towards the big blue box she saw in the distance. All the while she wondered a bit absentmindedly if she made some kind of terrible mistake, and if she should have just stayed in bed. And just who in the world was the Doctor referring to as 'old girl'? It couldn't be that blue box, could it? Her gaze flicked quickly to the Doctor and Gemma realized that he was just the type of person to refer to an inanimate object like a woman.

They reached the TARDIS in no time, the Doctor snapping his fingers for the doors to open as he led Gemma inside. Gemma was blown away by the sight of the TARDIS. It looked exactly as she saw it when she held the Doctor's screwdriver, when she used her gift. She let her gaze wander across the console room as the Doctor went straight to work at the center console. He was joined by Gemma moments later.

"Wow," she breathed in awe, "it really is bigger on the inside."

She noticed a smile quirk on the Doctor's lips as he searched around the console for something. Gemma wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold and a bit insecure about being in her nightclothes with a stranger she hardly knew, and yet she did know. She felt another presence around her, studying her, measuring her up and she knew as she gaze at the green crystalline pillar that it was the Doctor's ship she sensed.

_She's alive._ Gemma thought as she felt the presence swirl around her continuing it's studying of Gemma. She just knew that the TARDIS, the Doctor's ship was passing judgment on her, deciding if she was worthy enough to travel with him and help him in his cause. _I better be worthy enough_, Gemma thought again lifting her chin slightly in defiance, _you were the one that sent him to me, remember?_

"Uhm, Doctor…? About that wardrobe?" Gemma asked suddenly feeling like she needed some space to wrap her head around what she had just agreed to do.

"Oh yes the wardrobe," The Doctor didn't even look up from his work, "straight up those stairs there, a right, two lefts, another staircase, go forward about three feet and it's the last door on the right."

Gemma nodded and headed off in the direction the Doctor told her, hoping like hell she wouldn't get lost. As she ascended the staircase she heard the Doctor tell the TARDIS "be nice to her and don't even think about rearranging the corridors. We need her to like us and help us out, so behave." Gemma shook her head and chuckled a bit to herself. She wondered if the Doctor always talked to his spaceship box thingy like that. The presence she felt around her led her to believe that yes, he always did. It didn't take Gemma long to find the door to the wardrobe, and when she turned the knob and pushed the door open she literally had to pick her jaw up off the flow. In front of her stood row after row, rack after rack of clothing. Everything you could possibly imagine, from Victorian to Flapper, Jazz age to Stone Age, futuristic to vintage stood in front of her.

"Holy wardrobe to Narnia, Batman" Gemma murmured with an appreciative whistle, "One could get lost in here if they didn't quite know what they were looking for."

It took Gemma all of fifteen minutes to find something suitable to wear. She had decided on a vintage navy blue short sleeved dress with a white lace damask pattern. She paired that with some black tights and black calf length biker books for a modern touch. She stood in front of the floor length mirror in the wardrobe room and finger brushed her shoulder length black hair before twisting it up into a messy chignon with some bobby pins she found lying around. With one final approving nod to her reflection, Gemma backtracked until she arrived in the main console room once again. The Doctor, she noticed, had stopped whatever work he was doing up at the console when she had left and was now pacing back and forth around the center console running his fingers through his floppy brown hair. At that moment, Gemma saw just how frightened and afraid he really was for his friends that he had lost. Gemma's mind was made up then. She was going to help this impossible, mad scientist looking alien find his companions, no matter what it took, no matter what the cost. She never thought that she would be one to believe in time travel, or aliens, or distant planets where the sky burned a magnificent orange, but there was no way that she could brush off what she saw of the Doctor's life back at her flat. Her gift of psychometry never led her astray, never showed her false history. She knew that the Doctors was a Time Lord, an alien, and she knew that he needed her help.

"Doctor?" Gemma called out softly to him, like she was afraid to spook him, "Is everything okay?

She watched as instantly his features changed. His eyes steeled in determination and he gave her the goofiest smile he could possibly muster up. He was a master at hiding his emotions Gemma could tell. He wanted her to see him as the brave one, the one with the plan, not the one who was worried out of his mind and at wits end over his lost companions.

"Caldwell, you're back! Found the wardrobe okay I see? The TARDIS wasn't mean to you was she?" he asked her with such cheerfulness that her heart just broke for him. She knew how much he was scared and hurting deep inside.

"No, no. The TARDIS didn't move any corridors of trap me in an endless loop of rooms. She was a perfect companion." Gemma replied with a smile and she heard the TARDIS hum approvingly. "Now, Doctor, what can I do to help you find your friends? My guess is that you have about maybe six hours left to find them."

The Doctor gave her such a sweet smile and took her hand in his leading her over to the only seat at the console, the Captain's chair. Gemma sat down when he gestured for her to, and she watched him reach over to the console and pick up a dainty gold necklace. Gemma looked at it curiously, noticing it was a female's necklace, a little gold "A" hung on one side of the chain. The Doctor held it gently, as if the weight of the world and his friends rested upon this little trinket.

"This necklace belongs to my companion, Amy. She and her husband, Rory, my friends, were the ones who were taken from me. There is something that you need to understand about me Gemma; I've lived a very long life. I've lived and travelled for over 900 years now. I have made plenty of enemies along the way, as you may have learned from holding my sonic screwdriver back at your flat. One of my many enemies kidnapped my friends. I don't know who, and cannot find them. This is the only clue they left me, Amy's necklace. She was wearing it when they took her, and it was the only thing they sent me as proof of life."

Gemma reached out and gently took the Doctor's free hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I know that you want to find your friends, Doctor, and I am ready to help you in any way that I can. I will do all that I can to locate them and then together we'll bring them back safe and sound."

The Doctor shook his head sadly, "I couldn't ask you to put yourself in danger for me Gemma. That would be selfish of me, and I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you by your going in and helping me."

"Doctor," Gemma warned with an eyebrow arched in a challenge, "I am going to help you get your friends back and that's that. We're both incredibly stubborn so there's no point in arguing over this, we'll never get anywhere that way. Now," she held out her hand and motioned with her fingers for the necklace, "let's find where these mysterious companion-nappers took your friends."

The Doctor gave her a dazzling smile, one filled with so much hope and adoration. He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss against the top of Gemma's head. "Thank you Gemma." He whispered in her ear before dropping Amy's necklace in her open palm. As soon as her fingers closed around the dainty trinket, Gemma's gift awoke and she instantly saw all there was to see of Amy and Rory, especially where they were taken. She saw practically all of Amy's life, saw her travelling with the Doctor, saw her and Rory completely and irrevocably in love, saw the moment they were kidnapped and by whom. A name came to her then, the place where they were being held, where they were awaiting the Doctor to rescue them. The vision dissipated and Gemma slumped back against the chair breathing heavily. Her vision swam, and spots danced across her eyes, but it quickly passed. The Doctor was there, holding her other hand and squeezing his strength into her, waiting with baited breath for an answer as to where they went next.

"The lost planet of Prime Delta Three, that's where they're being held," Gemma stated, feeling dread set in, "also known as The Silent Planet, The Dead Planet. The one the Doctor destroyed."

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**Well there you have it, the end of Chapter! I congratulate you for making it all the way through and thank you for not giving up three sentences in. I'm working on the next chapter now and should have it up for you lovelies soon! Now the drill is quite simply this: READ, ENJOY IT, REVIEW! Your reviews mean the WORLD to me. And don't be shy, check out my other stuff too! Tell your friends, tell a companion, tell your cat! Let's get everyone to read it! Okay enough rambling on from me. Until next time dearies. ALLONS-Y! Peace, Love, and Fezzes for all!  
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**XO TheDoctor'sTARDISXO**


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